The good, the bad....and the ugly....

So, lets start with the good...the bird of the day.....standing in the garden this afternoon around 1630 and a plane is circling overhead....so, looking up and thinking that it sounds rather Spitfire like....there indeed was a Spitfire....not too high and giving fabulous views as it wound round three times before heading East and circling more.....

The bad.....thieving gypsy bastards....they moved in to the quarry area of Whetsted pits so my last visit was cut very short as I have come across these types before and they are nothing but trouble...so I made a hasty retreat.  Thankfully Lafarge and the local people were pretty much on the ball and these 'people' were moved on pretty sharp-ish.  So todays visit could take place.

The ugly.....

This is the kind of thing, im sure you know, that they do.  Tip their rubbish anywhere they please.  Not paying local landfill prices which is why they do 'cheap jobs'....encouraged by people living locally to get a job done rather than paying someone running a legitimate business.

Talking of which.....to business.....

SSW F2-4 gusting 5, sunny, cloudy, warm.

Lets start with a relaxing Autumnal picture....Blackcaps diet-berry.....purple poo!

After the cold days of around a week ago this week has, for the most part, been very pleasant with the return of the sun....though I did get caught out with a little sunburn the other day...!!  Today, after the rain finsihed, was another glorious warm and mostly sunny day....

So whats around the pits.....

Crow, Robin, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Green Woodpecker, Feral Pigeon, Jay, Swallow (2 over heading South), Jackdaw, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Whitethroat, Goldfinch, Magpie, Bullfinch, Linnet, Starling, Buzzard, Great Tit, Goldcrest, 2 Stock Dove.

Common Centaury, Centaurium erythraea

Common Centaury can be seen quite a bit at the moment around the site.  A lovely little pink plant, standing out among the yellows of some of the remaining flowering plants.

And....on the pits....

There were plenty of Geese dashing from one pit to another....thankfully they settled so I could count them.....221 Greylag and 17 Canadas...

....some of the Geese...

2 Mallard, 16 Tufted, 127 Coot, 12 Mute Swan, 5 Moorhen, 6 Gadwall, 8 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Little Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 34 Black Headed Gull, 24 Herring Gull, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Cormorant.

Lastly....do birds play?....these Jackdaws, about 40-50 of them, im fairly sure, were having great fun (im humanising them, I know!!) racing around in the wind amongst a couple of trees, chasing each other before 'whiffling' down and back in to the trees.....it certainly looked tremendous fun anyway!...maybe this is what it means to be as 'free as a bird'...